Crystal Clear
by Illusion137
Summary: The voice of a siren and the first love of the acrobatic tennis player. How will his partner react to this new development?
1. The mysterious voice

**Disclaimer: **I do NOT own the manga/anime "_Prince of Tennis_". All recognizable characters belong to the rightful owner.

**Dedication**: … to all Kikumaru Eiji fans out there. :)

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><p><strong>Crystal Clear<strong>

**Chapter 1: **_**The mysterious voice**_

It was one of those times again when the Regulars of the Seigaku tennis club had to practice for an important match. From freshman to senior, from kohais to senpais – everyone was gathered on the court.

Everyone besides one energetic senior.

"Vice-captain Oishi." Momo approached him with Kaido waiting behind. "Weren't we supposed to practice doubles with the Senpais? I can't see Eiji-senpai around…" He looked around to play it safe.

"Eiji is undergoing a special training right now." Inui joined them and explained. "You're going to practice with the Oishi and Taka-san pair."

"Eh?" Momo and Kaido looked taken aback. Honestly, they didn't really want to play against Kawamura, knowing the strength of his new Hadokyuu.

"Still, Inui…" Oishi looked at him with a worried expression. "Making Eiji run around the whole town under _those_ conditions…"

"It'll be fine, Oishi. I've calculated everything." A mysterious glint was apparent on his glasses. "I'll hand him back to you in one piece."

Oishi could only smile nervously at that. He caught a glimpse of Inui's new purple drink he prepared for Eiji; just in case that he didn't make it back on time. Somehow, he had a feeling that each of them wouldn't escape it this time.

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><p>The missing Eiji had been running for an hour already. Yet, both of his legs felt already like a lead weight. Or did that feeling come from the additional weights on his ankles?<p>

"Damn you, Inuiiii…!" he cried out for dear life.

Even if he was complaining at the moment, Eiji knew that he would see the results of his training sooner or later. No matter how crazy his methods sounded at first, Inui would always come up with the perfectly distinct workout for each member. Therefore, he focused on increasing Eiji's stamina. The latter was supposed to run a set route until practice time was over.

If he didn't make it, there would be a _punishment_ waiting for him.

"Ugh!" Eiji increased his pace when he remembered that new drink – the _turbo-juice_! Unfortunately, Inui knew too well that his drinks terrified _him_ of all people the most. Thus, the so-called 'brain' of Seigaku also knew how to make Eiji obey.

He was sure that he already surpassed his own limits and ran as fast as he never did before. That was why he barely noticed the stray kitten on his way by the riverside. The little animal was too frightened to move out of the way or react to Eiji's shout.

"Move it!"

Since it didn't budge the slightest, all he could do was jump forward and catch the kitten. Due to his maximal speed, he didn't land on the spot and scrolled up a little further while holding the animal protectively. Finally, he came to a stop, lying on his back.

"Phew!" Eiji sighed and held the kitten up. "That was a close thing, nya!" he smiled.

He didn't expect it to show any gratitude but as the animal reached for him and clawed his face, Eiji let out a small cry and let loose. The little cat ran away in the blink of an eye, as Eiji didn't chase after it.

"Nyaa, I won't make it back in time now…"

He spread out his arms and watched the afternoon sky. Should he go back anyway and take that new drink? "Better now than later…" he murmured to himself. However, his extra heavy legs didn't want to obey him voluntarily after interrupting his jogging.

The clouds passed by one after the other and his eyelids became heavier. He didn't even realize falling asleep there.

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><p>When Eiji came to and woke up, his eyes tried to get used to the dull sunlight. He rubbed his eyes with one hand while he wanted to bend one knee. It was easier said than done though. Wondering about the strange feeling around his ankle, he raised his leg and saw the extra weight on it.<p>

Then, it sunk in.

He got up with a swift movement and looked at his surroundings. How long did he sleep? A few minutes? Or even hours? More importantly, he needed to head back to the school _now_.

But he didn't.

Suddenly, a voice caught his attention and he turned towards its source. Only then, he noticed the other figure standing by the riverbank. The setting sun was still piercing his oversensitive eyes, so he could solely perceive the silhouette of the person.

"Oi…!" Eiji called out while blocking the sunrays with an arm.

The other person just became aware of his presence. In the next second, Eiji saw the person retreating quickly.

"Wait…" he called out and intended to follow. Too bad that his heavy legs made him trip and he landed on the ground again.

"Tough luck!" he cursed under his breath and looked up. Nevertheless, the person was nowhere to be seen. "Who… was _she_?"

Neither did he see her face, nor any other traits. Only her pleasant voice remained in his memory and one line of the song she sang by the riverside.

"_I love you and that's all I really know._"

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><p><strong>AN**_: I've been looking for (multi-chaptered and _not_ yaoi) romance stories about my favorite character of PoT – __**Kikumaru-sama**__! I couldn't find that many, so I decided to try writing one myself._

_The prologue might not be that interesting for now. However, I can only tell you that if you enjoy cute and innocent love stories, you will actually like this one._

_Feel free to leave me a review…please?_


	2. The same melody

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Prince of Tennis_.

**Dedication**: To _**Yakizakana**_, my first reviewer. :)

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: <strong>_**The same melody**_

The Regulars had already finished their practice half an hour ago. The freshmen were gathering balls under the surveillance of vice-captain Oishi. The other members were either changing clothes or lying here and there after drinking Inui's newest juice.

The latter was looking at the far distance and waiting for a certain member. "Weird."

As Oishi stared at him inquiringly, Inui explained. "According to my calculations, Eiji should have arrived here 27 minutes ago."

Before Oishi could start worrying about his partner, they spotted the redhead running towards the court. As soon as he reached his both comrades, Eiji let himself fall on the ground and took a breather.

"Nice job, Eiji." Oishi bent down and removed the weights around his ankles. "Are you alright?"

"What took you so long?" Inui added and wrote down the accurate time of Eiji's arrival.

"I got… distracted…" Eiji answered while panting for air.

The skeptical Inui observed him carefully and noticed one tiny fact, which didn't escape Oishi, too. Although Eiji was very exhausted, taking deep breaths, he was watching the reddish evening sky with a mysterious glint in his eyes.

After a silent minute, he got up absent-mindedly. "Oishi, can you give me my drink? I need to get home now…"

"Eh? S-sure…" Oishi replied before Inui interfered.

"Your drink is _here_, Eiji." He handed him a glass of the turbo-juice that Eiji was supposed to drink.

Much to their surprise, the redhead took it compliantly and swallowed up its content within a second. He knitted his brows a little and commented dryly. "… not bad."

"Eeeeh?!" Oishi was shocked by his partner's abnormal behavior.

Inui could just meet him with disbelief as Eiji seemed to be unaffected by his new drink. Did he overstrain the acrobat so much that he lost his sense of taste? Typically, Eiji was the most unresistant one to his juices.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow then." Eiji bid farewell and got his bag.

"Eiji, wait!" Oishi stopped him a last time and asked doubtfully. "Are you… really alright?"

"Hoi, hoi!" Eiji grinned at him as usual. "Tomorrow, we'll train together again."

"Y-yeah." Oishi was relieved to hear that. After all, his partner was his usual cheerful self. The reason for his immunity to the turbo-juice was probably just an exception.

Nevertheless, the suspiciousness of Inui didn't vanish so easily.

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><p>In the next morning, Eiji was late for morning practice. He didn't sleep well that night because he couldn't put a certain melody out of his mind.<p>

Why couldn't he get rid of it? Not that he got the entire song by the riverside yesterday. Neither was the voice of that unknown girl extraordinary. It was just… that the _way_ she had sung was different but he couldn't put it into words.

However, the melody rested engraved in his memory that he would recognize it anywhere. However, it distracted him from sleeping, from eating snacks… it might even distract him from training.

"Apropos training…" he stepped it up a notch because he was too late.

Miraculously, he arrived in time. At a far distance, he spotted his best friend and wanted to greet him loudly.

"Good morning, Oi-…_shi_…"His voice faded away as he noticed a girl standing by Oishi's side. The girl was about to leave and bowed respectfully.

Eiji could have sworn that their gazes met on her way for a split second. The girl was a little bit shorter than he was. Even from that distance, he could identify her brown shoulder-length hair and her light brown eyes.

He watched her until she entered the school building. Afterwards, he greeted Oishi as he had intended a while ago.

"Eh? Didn't you text me that you'll be late?" Oishi wondered.

Eiji winked at him. "I guess Inui's special training pays off, right? But say, Oishi…" he gestured towards the school building. "Who was that girl?"

"Y-you saw her…?" Oishi seemed to slightly panic for a moment. "Well,… you'll get to know her soon… I guess. Anyway, let's start practicing. We need to fill yesterday's gap…!" He walked rapidly to the courts.

The speechless Eiji could just stare at his back and wondered.

"_Is she… Oishi's _girlfriend_?_"

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><p>"O-chibiii!"<p>

The youngest Regular was having a practice match against the acrobat. As a consequence of Echizen hitting the ball highly, it flew out of the court and the two were looking for it separately.

"That's why I hate playing with him." Eiji sighed and looked around.

When he moved closer to the school building, something drew his attention.

"_I'll be waiting; all there's left to do is run._"

It was the same melody.

It was the same _voice_ – the _same_ voice from yesterday. Was he close to the music room?

Unconsciously, he made a few steps towards that direction when somebody stopped him.

"Kikumaru-senpai. I found the ball." Echizen spoke in his usual monotonous tone.

"Eh?" he snapped out of it and went to his kohai. "Be careful next time, will ya!"

They returned to the court whereas Eiji had a different thought in mind.

"_So _she's_ here at Seigaku, too._"

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><p><strong>AN**: _I was going to update as soon as I got my first review. So, here you go! Seriously, I'm wondering how many people do still read PoT stories (compared to other anime/manga) since it's quite old. However, as long as there's _one_ reader out there, it's enough for me to write this one._

_See you next time, dear fans!_


	3. The mystic siren

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Prince of Tennis_.

**Dedication**: To all **Kikumaru Eiji** fans. ;)

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: <strong>_**The mystic siren**_

The girls from the school choir giggled among each other.

"Isn't that Kikumaru-senpai?"

"No way! The cute Regular from the tennis club?"

"Kikumaru-samaaa!"

Eiji sensed the many gazes of the female admirers upon him. "Good morning, ladies." he grinned at them.

A courageous, albeit bashful member took a chance to talk to him. "G-good morning, Kikumaru-sama. W-what brings you here? P-please, don't misunderstand me. We're very glad to see you here…"

"Nyaa…" Eiji pondered how he should start. "Actually, I'm looking for someone but I don't know her name or looks…"

"Eh? Is she a member of the choir, senpai?" Someone asked from behind while the others were looking at him with hopeful eyes.

Eiji cupped his chin. "Hm… I'm not sure myself…" If he could only hum that _melody_ or know the song. "I heard her singing before lessons this morning."

"Well,… if senpai told us the song, we might be able to help you…" the girls suggested.

He shut his eyes tightly and tried to remember. "Something among the lines… '_I know that I love you_'…"

The crestfallen girls sighed. "We're sorry, Kikumaru-sama. Almost every song is about 'love'. Furthermore, we rarely practice so early in the morning."

"We also don't sing solo so much…" another girl added.

"It can't be helped then… maybe, it was just my imagination…" he murmured to himself. Then, he saw the gloomy expressions of the girls and grinned at them again. "Thanks, girls. You helped me a lot."

Their eyes sparkled anew. "Whenever you want, senpai!"

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><p>Later on that day, the students were sitting in their classrooms, attending the last classes of the week. As for the Regulars, they still had to train some more till they got their well-earned weekend.<p>

Hence, Fuji and Eiji were sitting together, listening to their female history teacher.

"That's why many people believed in the existence of sirens."

"Sensei, sensei!"

Fuji saw his comrade next to him raise his hand enthusiastically.

"Do you have a question, Kikumaru-kun?" the teacher picked him.

"Say, sensei, did sirens really exist?"

The teacher, as well as Fuji, didn't expect that question. Sure, history was Eiji's best subject but he seemed to be especially interested this time.

"Well…" the teacher replied, "It's a Grecian mythical creature which allured mariners with its chant to kill them."

"Nyaa, I don't believe that beings with such a fascinating voice can harm people anyway. Ne, sensei, did sirens also come out by the riverside?"

The teacher blinked twice and didn't know how to answer. Just in time, the bell rang and signalized the end of class. She was relieved to hear that and dismissed the students.

The disappointed look on Eiji's face was distinctly visible since he didn't get his answer.

Fuji rested one hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. "Let's go to practice. Oishi and the others will be waiting."

Eiji grinned back and nodded. "Hoi!"

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><p>Most of the other students went home long ago while the tennis club was practicing. The Regulars were playing against each other whereas Eiji was in charge of the freshmen. It was Inui's idea to improve the acrobat's playmaker skills.<p>

"Horio-kun! Hold your racket a little bit lower!" he shouted.

Suddenly, he noticed a bystander observing their practice. As far as he knew, the other clubs didn't have a meeting after school on Fridays. He concluded that the person was waiting for someone.

While the freshmen were training on their own, Eiji walked to her side. "Oi, are you looking for someone?"

The girl looked down shyly and nodded.

Now that he had a closer look, he recognized her. "Hmm? Haven't I met you this morning? You're the girl who was with Oishi before…"

"Um." The girl nodded, still refusing to look at him.

"Are you waiting for him? I'll get him for ya."

"N-no!" she burst out nervously. "I'll wait…"

"Fine then." Eiji arched a brow. "Are you Oishi's g-… acquaintance?"

"Y-yes…"

"Nice to meet ya! I'm Kikumaru Eiji." he grinned at her and put forth his hand.

"I… know…"

"See? You _can_ talk after all!"

The girl looked up at him for the first time.

"I'm not that scary or ugly to look at, right?" he twinkled, which made the girl blush lightly.

"Kikumaru-senpaiiii!" The younger players were calling him.

"Coming, coming!" he yelled back and waved to the girl in front of him. "See you later!" With that said, he ran back.

After a while, the girl wasn't on her spot anymore although she said that she would be waiting. "_Oishi's girlfriend is even more timid than Sakuno-chan…_" he thought. "_Whatever!_"

He would just wait for his partner to introduce her some day.

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><p>After the training, the golden pair was walking home together.<p>

"How was your training, Eiji? Did you have fun with guiding the freshmen?"

"Nyaa…" he didn't reflect on it for long, "I'm not made for the captain's job. It's too stressful for me but I could somehow understand your position during Tezuka's absence."

"You see, it's not that easy." Oishi admitted honestly. "Once Tezuka returns from Germany, I'll gladly return this job to him."

Then, another thing crossed the redhead's mind. "Now that you mention practice, _that girl_ of this morning was waiting for you earlier."

"Eh, really?" Oishi was surprised. "Thanks for telling me. I'll ask her later about it."

A couple of silent minutes passed by before Eiji asked. "Ne… is there something you wanna tell me?"

"Hm? Not at all…" Oishi replied fast. "What about you?"

"What do you mean, nya?"

"Fuji told me about your history class today… Is there something bothering you lately, Eiji?"

The latter understood what his friend was referring to and looked at the far distance.

"Actually… there's really something I wanna tell you."

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><p><strong>AN**: _It seems as if the number of my readers is increasing slowly but surely – I'm very happy and overexcited! ^_^_

_To __**mjp03**__: Feel free to tell me if you find any errors with regard to contents or grammar. ;) Actually, English is my third language so I can still improve my writing and language skills._

_I'm going to reply to each review directly. They motivate me so much, so thank you all for your encouraging words, dear readers!_

_See you next time…_


	4. The practice match

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _PoT_.

**Dedication**: to _**mjp03**_, _**Yakizakana**_ and _**bluheat**_.

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><p><strong>Chapter 4: <strong>_**The practice match**_

Sitting on the familiar green container, it didn't take Eiji too long to tell his partner about the events of yesterday.

"That... made you believe in the existence of _sirens_?" Oishi arched a brow.

"Don't make fun of it!" Eiji pouted.

"Sorry, sorry." Oishi laughed weakly and patted on his shoulder.

The couple watched the setting sun in silence for a while. Oishi glanced at his neighbor from the corner of his eye. He hardly saw the usually cheerful player brooding over anything that intensely. Eiji's eyes were looking to the far distance as if he was in some kind of a trance.

Well, Oishi was really curious about that mysterious girl now. "Was her voice truly that fascinating?"

"It _is_!" Eiji clenched his fists confidently and beamed with joy. "Just... how shall I describe it? She's singing like..." he thought aloud for a moment, "... like Fuji playing tennis!" His counterpart blinked surprised as Eiji tried to explain. "You know how Fuji plays compared to the others. How Ryuzaki-sensei calls it 'flawless' and stuff like that. Nyaaa, it's hard to describe!" he scratched his head in frustration.

Oishi could see the evident excitement in his bright eyes when the redhead thought of the incident. He smiled and turned towards the sunset. "In my opinion, it wasn't a dream or hallucination, Eiji." The latter stared at him inquiringly and Oishi continued. "Just think about it: if you heard the same person singing twice, it couldn't be just your imagination, right? I'm sure that you'll meet her again one day, when the right time comes."

"Really?" Eiji asked enthusiastically and Oishi nodded in agreement. Eiji stretched at ease and let himself fall back on the container. "Nyaa, I feel refreshed now! I should have talked to you earlier, Oishi!"

"Save your energy for tomorrow's match." Oishi recommended and got up. "Let's go home for now."

"Sorry, Oishi!" Eiji got up with a jolt and jumped down. "I feel ready to take on anything now!" he dashed off and shouted back. "See you tomorrow!"

"Eiji!" Oishi called out but to no avail. He knew that the acrobat was unstoppable now and that he needed to consume his power. "That goof." he sighed with a soft look.

When he intended to leave, too, his ringing phone held him up.

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><p>The next day, Seigaku had a practice match against Yamabuki. Even if it was only for training and not an official tournament, both teams keenly aimed for victory.<p>

A doubles-match was occurring at the moment. Although Yamabuki was famous for its strong doubles-teams, they didn't manage to beat Seigaku's golden pair so far.

"Game, Seigaku, 2-0!"

Even if Yamabuki's team was losing at present, the audience was still cheering loudly enough. Eiji briefly wandered his gaze through the mass of people and noticed most of the people supporting the green team. His eyes landed on a certain spot unconsciously where he detected a familiar face.

"15-0!"

While Oishi was serving again, he quickly glanced at the same spot. Now, he was certain that the girl over there was Oishi's _girl friend_ whom he met yesterday. The brunette was looking left and right with a worried expression.

"30-0!"

Two guys with green jerseys approached her. They seemed to be talking to the girl whereas she was backing off a little.

"40-0!"

Throwing a last glance at them, Eiji saw one of the guys pulling her wrist. Distaste was written all over the girl's face when she weakly fought against it. Suddenly, anger started boiling inside the acrobat slowly as the grip on his racket tightened. "Eiji!" he barely caught the warning of his partner from behind that the ball was flying his way.

Abruptly, Eiji took a step back and hit the ball with his racket strongly after turning the upper part of his body towards the scene. The other three players, as well as the audience, followed the course of the ball until it hit its target. The ball left a red mark on the guy's face, who was reduced to letting loose the girl's wrist, and landed on the ground. The impact was powerful enough that he fell back in the arms of the other guy.

"Oi, missy!" Eiji rested his racket on his shoulder and called out to her with a grin. "Could you return the ball, please?"

A few gazes turned to him again, amongst others the Seigaku team, the girl concerned and the two guys.

"Mizuno?" Oishi murmured and looked back at his partner. Meanwhile, the girl overcame the little shock and picked up the ball, smiling back faintly. Even though she struck out with her whole might, the ball bounced several times till it landed on the court.

Before continuing the game, Eiji shot one last look at the two guys and shouted. "Sorry, my hand slipped!" His gaze wasn't dark enough to frighten the two. However, his fierce eyes gave them the creeps. It was only for an instant though and Oishi wondered what made him hyped up all of a sudden.

Later, that game ended with Seigaku's victory. It was Momoshiro and Kawamura's turn next and the golden pair returned to the rest of their team. After a short while, Oishi climbed up the bleachers and joined his acquaintance.

"Who's she, Eiji?" Fuji asked as their teammates were concentrated on the ongoing game.

"A... friend of Oishi." Eiji simply replied. Even if Fuji was a close friend, he didn't want to tell him more than necessary about Oishi's privacy. "I don't know her much either."

"They're coming this way." Fuji remarked with interest.

Oishi came back to his comrades with the shy brunette one step behind. He made a step to the side to reveal her figure, who was facing the ground.

"Eiji, Fuji, let me introduce Mizuno to you."

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><p><strong>AN**: _Finally, the introduction of a new character! Tell me what you think about this chapter._

_**REVIEW**__, please?!_


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